Galzbiristan
Galzbiristan, officially the Republic of Galzbiristan (Galzbiri: Galzbyryston Respublikasy or Галзвырыстон Республыкасы) is a country in southeastern Floresia, bordering Eistaan to the southwest, New Germany to the west, Bantaland to the north, and Balykhstan to the east. In terms of land area, it is the fifth largest country in Vanadia, although a large portion of the country (approx. 63.2%) is arid or desert terrain, with the Great Ghyrghun Desert taking up the northeastern corner of the country. Galzbiristan was part of the Russian governorate from the late 18th century until independence in 1933. The newly-installed democratic government was deposed less than a year later, and the thenceforth Socialist People's Republic of Galzbiristan came under the 57-year dictatorial rule of Garjanbek Stanan. Stanan embarked on a series of failed economic programs that cased the Galzbiri economy to falter and fall behind the rest of the world, and indirectly led to devastating famines that decimated the country's population. After Stanan's death in 1991, his handpicked successor Guqlanlalbeý Itmańbĕbýew took over the presidency, but was soon ousted in a dramatic coup and a previously minor member of the Communist Party, Okeldy Pritweşjow, seized power. Pritweşjow dismantled the one-party dictatorship, ostensibly making the country into a multi-party presidential republic, although the Great Divinity Sovereign Galzbiristan Party, the direct successor the the Communist Party, maintains almost complete monopoly in the Olyý Mĕjlis (Supreme Assembly). Geography The majority of Galzbiristan is flat, arid desert, over 80% of which receives less than 10 in. of rainfall annually. A large portion of the country is taken up by the Greater Ghyrghun Desert in the northeastern corner, a flat, sandy desert sprinkled with oases. This barren, desolate terrain is home to the nomadic Ajmir and Gorapogh peoples. The Lesser Ghyrghun Desert lies parallel to the eastern coast west of Newytdag and is mainly rocky. The Illu River and its major tributaries, the Gezgedan and Neńjen, form a floodplain in the western portion of the country in which 97% of the Galzbiri population lives. Every city in the country with a population greater than 100,000 (with the exception of the oasis city of Zalqandy) lies within 30 miles of the river. The fertile and well-irrigated Illu River Plain is the center of Galzbiri agriculture as well as population, mainly growing wheat and cotton. The Aghap Range, part of the Great Floresian Range, raises to the west of the Illu River Plain along the entire western border of Galzbiristan. This barren, rocky range is sparsely populated, but extremely rich in mineral wealth including nickel, titanium, molybdenum, uranium, and precious gems. The highest point in the country is Mount Kungytaý in the Qoýpandağ Subrange, at 14,356 ft. History The region that is now Galzbiristan was inhabited by highly civilized indigenous Marri civilizations prior to The Great Contact. There is evidence that the Illu-Valley peoples may have independently created their own script and even came up with the concept of the number zero (although this could also be imported from the Vandra or Dhadhai). Tyzdap, a Vandraic site north of Gembek, is in fact one of the most important archaeological sites of the Late Pre-Contact Period. The Russians colonized the trans-Illu region in the late 18th century, and retained tight control over it until the early 1900's. Starting in 1909, revolts shook the Russian Governorate, led primarily by Tylumguly Deńdyzgyrt, often called "The Father of Galizbiristan" for his role in freeing the Galzbiri people from foreign oppression. By 1923, loss of colonies in other parts of Vanadia and upheaval on their own planet discouraged the Russians from trying to hold onto control of the colony, and they signed the Kambek (Gembek) Concord, agreeing to grant the independence of Galzbiristan by no later than 1933. On August 12, 1933, the Republic of Galzbiristan was declared, and Erzulytym Ğyndiğyz was installed as president. Ğyndiğyz was, however, a weak and corrupt leader, and was ousted less than a year later in a popular coup lead by communist revolutionary Garjanbek Stanan. On the first anniversary of independence in 1934, Stanan declared the Socialist People's Republic of Galzbiristan, and outlawed all parties other than the Communist Party of Galzbiristan in the National Assembly, now renamed the Great Proletarian Soviet. Stanan began a series of short-term economic "plans" to boost the agricultural growth of the country, since in his self-proclaimed form of Marxist ideology, often called Stananism, farmers were the backbone of the "class struggle." The disastrous effects of his 1937 "Great Proletarian Agricultural Campaign" began to be felt the following year, when pseudoscientific "agricultural improvements" actually decreased the grain output of Galzbiri farms significantly. In response, Stanan implemented the "Great Cleansing of the Classes", forcing intellectuals and other "undesirables" out of the cities and into forced labor on the farms. The result was continued decline in agricultural output, and a famine that by 1944 killed approximately 15-18 million, or possibly as much as a fourth of the then-population of Galzbiristan. By 1955, Stanan all but abandoned attempts to boost the economy, and focused instead on cultivating a sycophantic cult of personality for himself. He launched a nation-wide project to build statues of himself, and renamed nearly every street in the capital (which itself he renamed Stanangrad) to honor himself in some way. His narcissism grew so large that by 1960 there were no less than 17 cities by the name of Stanangrad, 10 Stananbads, 4 Stananopols, and 2 Stananteps in the country. Most of these names were reverted in 1991 (and quite a few later renamed "Galzbirbaşy" etc., see below). Throughout the 1960s and 70s, Stanan remained largely sequestered in his "presidential" palace in the capital, rarely to be seen. However, he kept up his cult of personality, probably the pinnacle of which was the installation of a 17-foot-tall statue of himself in the square in front of the palace. He often held sporting events in his own honor in the aptly named "Divine Başy (father) Stanan Stadium," often initiated by 4-hour-long anthems of his glory sung by thousand-strong choruses, and almost invariably including the rather uncreative sport of "Stanan-ball," basically an extremely simplified form of volleyball. The economy of Galzbiristan, in the meantime, fell far behind the rest of the world, although the population rebounded due to Stanan's fanatical insistence on large families for Galzbiri women. This meant widespread hunger due to still low agricultural output. After 1980, Stanan was almost never seen from again, hiding in his palace, and party politics were now mainly run by his cronies. A rising leader in the Soviet was the sycophantic but often self-contradictory Guqlanlalbeý Itmańbĕbýew, who Stanan, in failing health, tapped as his successor in 1986. Itmańbĕbýew was seen as a bizarre choice by many in the Party, since, although enthusiastically pro-Stanan, he had often been on the wrong end of party purges in the 60s and 70s. Being purged no less than 3 times, he was thus a mysterious choice for heir-apparent to the Stananist system; some have claimed Stanan did this specifically to disadvantage certain other powerful party leaders or even because he knew Itmańbĕbýew to be incompetent and hoped to cause the self-destruction of the Party after his death. In any case, after the death of Stanan in 1991, Itmańbĕbýew declared himself president and supreme leader of the Soviet. This didn't set well with most of the Party, and the soon began plotting to overthrow him. In 1992, they led a successful coup and overthrew Itmańbĕbýew, but infighting bloodily eliminated the top contenders for the presidency. Okeldy Pritweşjow, a virtual unknown in the party ranks, used his charisma to win over the military and seized control of the Soviet. With overwhelming military support, he dissolved the Soviet and the Communist Party and declared Galzbiristan to be a multiparty democracy with himself as president on May 3, 1993. Pritweşjow did go through with many of the reforms he promised, although many view that, intoxicated by power, he backed away from the multilateralism and far-sweeping democracy he had promised. He quickly fell into narcissistic self-aggrandizement of the Stanan model, replete with verbose titles (as in his Great Divinity Sovereign Galzbiristan Party he created, which was basically a rehash of the Communist Party) and gold statues. He also insisted on being referred to as "Galzbyrbaşy" (Father of Galzbirs) and tried to erase the legacy of Stanan and replace it with his own. He pardoned many ex-Party members, and even began to crack down on government opposition. Despite what many perceive to be doublespeak regarding any claims of actual democracy, and accusations of creating a cult of personality as far-reaching as his predecessor, Pritweşjow is often viewed in a somewhat positive light by Western media because of the period of intense economic growth he has overseen in Galzbiristan (whether or not it is a consequence of his policies is another issue entirely). Despite his occasional attempts to control or even reverse privatization of industry in Galzbiristan, the economy has grown at an astounding pace in the period since 1993, a period known as the Galzbiri Wirtschaftswunder (from the German for "economic miracle"). Since 1998 especially, Pritweşjow embarked on a series of economic megaprojects, including the from-scratch creation of the entire city of Ğyrğunbad, which, according to some have boosted the economy even more, although other disagree and see them as extravagant wastes of money for narcissistic purposes. Administrative divisions Galzbiristan is divided into five regions or myňtaqatlar (singular myňtaqat, in compounds myňtaqaty, from Arabic minţaqah "region"). These in turn are divided into a small number of provinces or wylaýatlar (singular wylaýat, in compounds wylaýaty, from Arabic wilāyah "province"), with the exception of Ğyrğun Myňtaqaty, which contains no provinces. Finally, these are divided into either cities (şĕherler/şĕher/şĕhri) or districts (etrĕpler/etrĕp/etrĕpi). Demographics Economy Culture See also *Vanadia Category:Vanadia Category:Countries Category:Countries on Earth